It hurts (the pocketbook) to say goodbye

Last year, Delta – one of the smaller school districts in Greater Vancouver – spent more on CEO salaries than almost any other district. That’s because it was paying two superintendents at the same time — one to work and one not to work.

A new website that provides easy access to information about executive compensation shows that Delta gave its former superintendent John Anderson total compensation of $170,660 last year. It also gave his replacement, Steve Cardwell, $178,980.

Delta never explained why Anderson left, other than to say it wanted to move in a new direction and both sides agreed to an early conclusion of his contract. (Read more in the Delta Optimist.)

The other district with a hefty CEO bill was Coquitlam, which said farewell to retiring superintendent Laureen Doerksen. Her total compensation last year was $391,743, including about $100,000 in vacation payout and $63,382 for sick leave/gratuity. Coquitlam had a smaller bill for its new superintendent Tom Grant, who started part-way through the year and received $92,580.

(All figures above are total compensation, which includes pension, vehicle allowance and other benefits.)

In terms of straight salary, Surrey, the largest district, paid its superintendent, Mike McKay, the most at $203,863. Vancouver, the second largest, had the second highest superintendent pay for Chris Kelly at $172,475. The smallest superintendent salary in Greater Vancouver went to Cheryle Beaumont in Langley, but her total compensation of $191,549 was similar to that of her colleagues.

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